Wednesday, 23 March 2016

A remarkable new release from the Royal Flemish Philharmonic’s own label of Wim Henderickx’s Symphony No.1, Oboe Concerto, Groove! for Percussion and Orchestra and Empty Mind I for oboe and electronics should find a whole new following for this composer

Wim Henderickxwww.wimhenderickx.com studied composition at the Royal Conservatoire
of Music in Antwerp, where he also studied percussion. He took part in the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik
in Darmstadt and attended sonology classes at Ircam in Paris and at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in The Hague.

Since 1996 Henderickx has been Composer in Residence at the
Muziektheater Transparant and in 2013 he joined the Royal Flemish Philharmonic
(deFilharmonie) as Artist in Residence. He teaches composition and musical
analysis at the Conservatories of Music in Antwerp and Amsterdam and is also
the main teacher of the Summer Composition Course for young composers in
Neerpelt, Belgium.

Symphony No. 1, At the Edge of the Worldrelates toWim Henderickx’s fascination with the
works of art by Anish Kapoor. The composer wanted to be loyal to the tradition
of the symphony but allows a link with Eastern cultures trying to let East and
West dialogue and find each other in the search for the interpretation of the
concept 'symphony'. At the same time he wanted to go to extremes with At the Edge of the World, exploring
contrasts.

In fine movements, Marsyas
is described as a three part scherzo and based on a sculpture that has three
trumpet-like orifices. It brings an exceptional brilliance, a fast swirling,
glittering theme that moves through passages of shimmering detail, an ever
evolving texture out of which many individual instrumental details emerge.

Melancholia relates
to a relatively small and introspective sculpture, opening with hushed strings
through which glittering percussion sounds are heard, slowly emerging through
dissonant chords in this beautifully conceived section. Later a cor anglais
appears in a lovely sequence, around which orchestra and percussion gently move.
Later there is a section where strings slowly and gently shift the theme around
with woodwind and brass appearing subtly through the texture as the percussion
add to the texture and the coda is reached.

Svayambh means
‘the self-generated’ in Sanskrit and relates to a sculpture made for London’s
Royal Academy of Arts. Shimmering strings lead to more dynamic orchestral ideas
as the music rushes ahead, again achieving a brilliance with percussion again
adding to the texture with the use of a variety of percussion instruments. Brass
and lower strings add to the weight of sound, though never losing the earlier transparency
in the upper orchestra, eventually gaining a subtle rhythm before suddenly
ending.

At the Edge of the
World is a gigantic rust red dome that inspired the composer to bring a
timeless quality, building layers of chords. It opens with little orchestral
blossomings as instrumental ideas emerge. Delicate percussion touches add a
slightly Eastern feel. There are chattering woodwind sounds and the feel of a
large acoustic conjured by Henderickx’s subtle and quite wonderfully brilliant
orchestration. Here he has created strange and beautiful textures that glitter
and expand in this quite magical movement. Distant, remote sounds are heard and
later little wavering orchestral sounds. A flourish of woodwind appears in the ever
changing texture with percussion adding to a shimmering woodwind section,
adding strange sounds as the music continues its hushed gentle way until fading
at the end.

Leviathan is
described here as a monstrous inflatable object designed by Kapoor for the
Grand Palais in Paris. The music brings a sudden change as the orchestra opens
on a dramatic chord moving forward in a rather menacing fashion before swirling
strings and woodwind lead on. Tubular bells are heard before the dramatic
orchestra returns, beefed up by bass drum and timpani rolls. Later the music
suddenly rushes forward in a rhythmic passage around which the orchestra create
a fine rich texture. The music soon falls to a quieter, slower, more mysterious
passage but the dramatic outbursts return with rasping brass and scurrying strings
as the music builds to a pitch underpinned by percussion to a sudden end.

This is a tremendous symphony that brings many wonderful
textures and colours in Henderickx’s fine orchestration. Edo de Waart and the Royal Flemish
Philharmonic provide an impressive performance.

Wim Henderickx wrote his Empty Mind I as a piece for
oboe and electronics with electronic manipulation of the oboe in order to
produce what the composer calls a ‘superoboe.’ This original work appears at
the end of the second disc of this set. It is Henderickx’s expansion of the
work into his Oboe concerto, Empty Mind I for oboe, orchestra and
electronics that follows. In six movements the electronics are interspersed
with and complemented by orchestral instruments arranged in small groups.

The first movement, Awakening
has a hushed opening as though faint sounds are heard through a breeze out of
which dissonant woodwinds cry. The solo oboe brings a melancholy theme with a drooping
woodwind accompaniment, soon surrounded by gentle strings and percussion.
Soloist, Piet Van Bockstal delivers the most wonderful sounds as the piece
develops, drifting in and out of the orchestral texture in this rather ear
catching, intoxicating movement. The music moves through a gentler moment
before the oboe brings its anxious cry with some of the most subtle use of
percussion and electronics creating a wonderful backdrop before a haunting
coda.

In Without Desires
the soloist continues to weave some stunningly beautiful, strange harmonies
over a glistening orchestral backdrop. A solo violin appears with strange yet
beautiful electronic sounds, the soloist weaving some terrific passages, achieving
some terrific sounds high in the oboe’s register as well as some distinctive
lower textures. At times, the oboe and electronics seem to create the sound of
a Redgate oboe www.christopherredgate.co.uk
, an instrument designed to expand the scope of the ordinary instrument. Later
there is a particularly beautiful hushed moment as the oboe gently sounds
within a hushed orchestral texture before the coda is reached, disappearing
into the silence of the opening.

Oboe and orchestra move off quickly in Ecstacy, a bubbling lively theme, before slowing as the oboe and
orchestra bring some delicate textures. The oboe develops the theme bringing more
fine timbres and textures from his instrument before the music picks up to move
quickly ahead. Eventually there is a haunting hushed section full of delicate
sounds that brings about the coda.

Contemplation opens
with the most amazing dynamic sounds from oboe and brass, full of raucous
textures but soon finding the melancholy of the earlier movement with
instrumental drooping motifs as the soloist weaves around. The opening statement,
for oboe and brass, returns to lead into a louder version of the melancholy
theme with more raucous outbursts occurring. Here they bring rather Eastern
sounding textures. The oboe and strange orchestral/electronic accompaniment
continue with, later the most wonderful hushed section for orchestra, electronics
and oboe, quite miraculous in its sound before the hushed end.

Secret Glance brings
a lighter, flowing buoyant theme as the oboe and orchestra quickly flow ahead.
Soon there is a slower passage that picks up on the melancholy earlier moments but
the flow is quickly regained with Henderickx finding a lovely light glittering
texture. There is a further hushed, melancholy passage with the most exquisite
instrumental sounds before we are led to the hushed coda.

Epilogue seems to
rise out of the coda of the preceding movement, the oboe slowly taking its theme
forward over a slow orchestra and electronic backdrop of remarkable invention, before
slowly fading through some wonderfully shifting harmonies to the coda.

Wim Henderickx brings some astonishing textures, colour and
harmonies. The performance by Piet Van Bockstal is remarkable as is the
orchestral contribution from the Royal Flemish Philharmonic under Martyn
Brabbins and the electronics by Jorrit Tamminga.

The second disc opens with Groove! for percussion and orchestra. In five movements the first, I 1001 Nights is a meditation on Persian
music using percussion instruments from the Middle East. It has a rattling good
start from percussionist Pieterjan Vranckx that soon leads to a swirling
orchestral passage. The music drops to a slower rhythmic passage for drums and
orchestra with Henderickx bringing an exotic Eastern sound for the orchestra with
some terrific rhythms for the drums. Various individual instruments shine
through, including a flute, as a terrific texture is woven. The music develops
quite a forward driving rhythm. The scoring is colourful as it moves through
passages with terrific percussion rhythms and textures, moments of tremendous
rhythmic drive, always coloured by fine textures before swirling to a fantastic
wild dance in the coda.

Interlude 1 brings
a hushed moment where the most delicate percussion sounds are heard picking out
a little theme.

The orchestra plods falteringly forward in II Into a Mystical World, surrounded by
percussion that brings a light textured, ethereal sound, aided by the shifting
strings. Here Henderickx creates the most marvellous sounds, wonderful colours
and textures, using orchestral winds, strings and percussion. The music moves through
passages of gentle flowing calm, tinged with Eastern percussion textures. A
saxophone later adds a deep rich texture that leads into a section that builds
in tempo with a rhythmic drum line over an increasingly dense orchestral
texture. Later the music falls suddenly to a quiet mysterious section where the
solo percussion develops some exquisite sounds over gentle subtle orchestral
accompaniment. Here again Henderickx’s ear for colour and texture is superb.
Percussion add moments of drama before the orchestra sounds out dramatically to
intense drum strokes creating a forceful onward drive. The texture lightens
with a woodwind motif but the drums continue their rhythmic force to the sudden
end on a drum stroke.

Interlude 2 is
another quiet and gentle interlude from percussion with more wonderfully delicate
sounds.

III Black Magic
quickly arrives to drive ahead in a terrific rhythm with soloist and orchestra
achieving some terrific ensemble as the varying rhythms bound forward. There
are some very fine woodwind contributions before the soloist has a real moment
to let rip on the drums bringing an intense rhythm and drive. The music
quietens as the soloist slowly works the rhythm theme through some subtly
conceived ideas before picking up the tempo and thundering out before the
orchestra rejoins. A low saxophone joins to duet with the drums, other brass
join in a tremendous moment before the whole orchestra join to rhythmically
drive inexorably forward to a sudden end.

This is a percussion concerto that deserves attention. Here
it receives a terrific performance from percussionist Pieterjan Vranckx with
very fine support from Martyn Brabbins and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.

Finally we come to the original version of Empty Mind I for oboe and electronics.
As with the Oboe concerto, Empty Mind I, there are six movements. I Awakening develops out of a hush more
quickly as the solo oboe brings its melancholy theme against a finely woven
electronic layer. The combining of solo oboe
and subtle electronic sounds is wonderfully done with oboist, Piet Van Bockstal’s
control against the electronics of Jorrit Tamminga superbly judged. As the
music moves into II Without Desires
the soloist perfectly complements the shifting electronic accompaniment, weaving
some wonderful tones and textures, finding, as in the concerto, many textures
from various registers of his instrument. Both soloist and electronics create
some wonderful textures and harmonies.

The electronics echo the soloist’s phrases in III Ecstacy, a wonderful combining of
musical lines, textures and harmonies. The soloist brings a melancholy theme
over hushed electronics as well as some brilliant faster passages for oboe,
remarkably echoed by the electronics. There are many fine timbres that seem to
echo and fade into the electronics.

A rich oboe texture alternates with lighter electronic and
oboe phrases in IV Contemplation before
some very fine, fluent oboe passages alternate with richer textured passages with
the electronics supporting the richer passages. V Secret Glance brings a flowing oboe theme supported by a
shifting, glittering electronic layer that quite remarkably reflects and
complements the solo line before hushed electronic sounds lead into the Epilogue where the oboe picks up the sad
theme. The soloist finds some fine dissonant harmonies over the electronic
accompaniment with the combination of oboe and electronics creating some spellbinding
harmonies, colours and textures before fading to silence.

If anything this is more remarkable than the concerto. Oboist
Piet Van Bockstal delivers a superb performance with the most outstanding electronics
by Jorrit Tamminga.

This remarkable release should find a whole new following
for this composer. The recording is first class and there are excellent booklet
notes.

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The Classical Reviewer has been involved in music for many years, as a classical record distributor, as a newspaper concert reviewer and writer of articles relating to music as well as reviewing for Harpsichord and Fortepiano magazine.

He assisted in the cataloguing of the scores of the late British composer George Lloyd and has co-authored a memoir of his friendship with the composer.

Having a particular interest in British music, he regularly undertakes talks on Elgar.

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